Actress Cybill Shepherd has paid tribute to legendary author and playwright Gore Vidal, revealing he hand picked her to make her Broadway debut in the latest revival of The Best Man.
The former TV star reveals she would often gift Vidal with quality Scotch whiskey whenever she went to visit him and the frequent presents paid off this summer (12) when Shepherd was chosen to take over from Candice Bergen in the political production, about rival presidential candidates.
Vidal passed away at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday (31Jul12) after suffering complications from pneumonia, and Shepherd is saddened she never got the chance to see her old pal one last time before he lost his fight for life.
During an appearance on U.S. talk show The View on Wednesday (01Aug12), she said, "We just found out Gore passed away; he had been ill for quite a while. Unfortunately I did not get to see him (towards the end) but he was always in my heart and I always took him at least five bottles of single malt Scotch so he would remember me... I really think if he hadn't wanted me in this play, I wouldn't have gotten this part."
Shepherd's co-star Kristin Davis also remembered Vidal on her Twitter.com blog and revealed she will be dedicating her performance on Wednesday night to the late literary icon.